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Northern Michigan University's CDL truck driving program—temporarily halted by the COVID-19 crisis—will resume Monday, July 27, with new safety guidelines and procedures in place. Students who complete the intensive course should be ready to test for a Commercial Driver's License and begin their careers in five weeks.

The Northern Michigan University Alumni Association has announced five recipients of its 2020 Alumni Awards: Steve Mariucci ('77 BS, '83 MAE) of Monte Sereno, Calif., and Per Utnegaard ('82 BS) of Oberaegen, Switzerland, Distinguished Alumni; Anita Mattson ('02 BS) of Worcester, Mass., Alumni Achievement; Amanda Rosenburg ('02 BS) of Astoria, N.Y., Outstanding Young Alumni; and Greg Toutant ('94 BS) of Negaunee, Alumni Service.

NMU English professor Jaspal Kaur Singh is the author of the recently published monograph, Violence and Resistance in Sikh Gendered Identity. The publisher's description states that the book "explores the constructions and representations of male and female Sikhs in Indian and diasporic literature and culture through the consideration of the role of violence as constitutive of Sikh identity." 

NMU alumnus and former Wildcat football player Vincent Propson is the new activities director at Randolph High School in Wisconsin. He told the Daily Citizen the job was a perfect match. The school wanted someone to teach physical education and health, who also had experience as an athletic director and could be a strength and conditioning coach.

NMU broadcasting alumnus Jim Gleason (BS '90) was recently featured in a newspaper profile of his Radio Wasteland Records store, which opened in 2017 in Midland. Gleason turned a longtime collecting hobby into an entrepreneurial venture. He sells new and vintage vinyl while working to replicate the 1970s and ‘80s atmosphere of people listening to music playing on a turntable while thumbing through records.

Northern Michigan University continues to lead a collaborative effort to monitor data on weather and wave conditions at three locations along the southeastern shore of Lake Superior. The goal is to enhance safety among commercial and recreational users by generating real-time data that can aid in their decision-making. The first buoy was placed July 3 near Munising, 4.5 miles offshore. Two more will be deployed near Grand Marais and at Granite Island, about 12 miles north of Marquette.

Crissa Karavas, who earned her NMU degree in hospitality and tourism management with a minor in entrepreneurship in May, recently received the Martha Griffiths Award from the American Association of University Women Marquette Branch. The award is presented annually to a “high-achieving graduating female senior at NMU with high involvement in her discipline.”

NMU public relations professor and alumna Jes Thompson co-edited the recently published America's Largest Classroom: What We Learn From Our National Parks, which has been nominated for the National Nonfiction Book Award. Thompson recruited NMU art and design alumna Abigail Cook to create graphics and help with the final layout and photo rendering for the book's publisher, University of California Press.

NMU's English Department has compiled a list of dozens of suggested readings related to African American culture, including titles that help provide a context for the Black Lives Matter movement, along with some materials addressing Native American history and culture. 

Northern Michigan University has received a highly competitive National Endowment for the Humanities grant worth $170,000 to support a Native American studies sustainable online programming project. Only 14% of the 2,300 eligible applications were funded through a new round of NEH Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act grants, according to a press release.

The Two Books Two Communities program, a partnership between Northern Michigan University and the Marquette and Alger County communities, has chosen The Women of the Copper Country and To the Copper Country as the books for the 2020 community read.

NMU geography alumnus Nick Spittlemeister is one of three experts from Lake County Forest Preserves in Illinois who will participate in a free GPS World webinar on how the district uses HD aerial imagery to protect and maintain natural resources. He has worked there since 2016 and has more than 15 years' experience in GIS. 

Charlie Mesloh, NMU criminal justice professor and certified instructor on the use of police projectiles, shares his expertise in a June 22 USA Today report on serious injuries that have resulted from "less-lethal" projectiles fired at protesters. 

Viewers who rely on an indoor or outdoor antenna to watch WNMU-TV will need to rescan their televisions to continue receiving the signal. The station will switch frequencies at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 1, as required by the Federal Communications Commission, so that its original channel can be repurposed for high-speed wireless services.

Northern Michigan University is offering 11 self-paced, online educational modules related to the COVID-19 pandemic free of charge. NMU faculty members from a variety of disciplines developed the short, non-credit courses. Topics range from the scientific aspects of coronaviruses and testing to the impacts on communities, businesses and families.

Northern Michigan University is suspending the per-credit online fee for all distance learning courses this fall, as it did for the winter and summer semester. This also applies to Global Campus students. 

Northern Michigan University is piloting a “test-blind” admissions policy, in which freshmen applicants are not required to submit SAT or ACT test scores to be admitted. The change was prompted in part by barriers to administering standardized tests during the coronavirus pandemic. It is also supported by statistical evidence from national sources and NMU analyses that high school grade-point average, not SAT/ACT scores, is the most reliable gauge of how students will perform in college. 

Northern Michigan University's Technical and Office Professionals union (UAW 1950) has ratified a one-year contract extension, with 96% support among those who cast virtual ballots on Monday.